SPORTING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 103, 9 August 1910, Page 8

SPORTING

A CHEAP RACEHORSE. By Cftbk'— Association.— Copyright Received 9, 12.15 a.m. Melbourne, Lust Night. The thoroughbred Canteen, purchased l, v Sir R. Clarke in New Zealand at a big figure, has beea resold for 80 guineas. . ~■ -*<■*, C.J.C. NATIONAL MEETING. • (Note's by "Moturoa.") To-day the flags will be flying at Riccarton. The splendid Canterbury convincing ground will be the Mecca of al true Iportsmen. 'Tis Grand National day, and in our hearts we envy our more fortunate comrades in sport who will be Wilegea to witness the splendid racing Looping and jumping-which will be provided at the popular Canterbury winter gathering. With its voter 1«; all j sport that is clean is popular, but there 1 is about the National noting a charm which draws us more T , O -.vertully than our ordinary race meetings. The sigut of »ame thoroughbreds, in the pink ot , conation striving for -the mastery in keen contest, is always glorious, but a National Steeplechase is an event wmch stands alone. It is a thousand times more glorious than the finest flat race ever mn. Just picture to yourself the spectacle of gallant timber-toppers swooping along on the flat, facing the obstacles gamely, nay, with keen enuiusiasm; and the fever of excitement as ■■■ each bold horse gathers himself for the bound, rises resolutely at the vital moment, soars high above the bristling fence, his watchful rider's brilliant jacket scintillating in the sunlight; then down, and on again; more walls and ditches, gorse hedges and posts and rails. And then they turn for home! Ihe lightweights are cracking on the pace; the heavily burdened ones—the champions of the 'chase—are drawing up gamely for the final tussle. Will they do it? Can they see it out with their crushing imposts? 'Every-ounce of weight counts now. On, on they come, noises mid horsemen .straining every nerve. It is no place for .the weak or the faltering. None but the powerful and the game can hope to triumph here. Thousands of eyes are focussed on the struggle—silent, and quivering. Which will, win? The bay, or the black, or the brown? The brown shows in front. Ten thousand tongues are loosed. '"The brown wins! The brown wins!" they cry. What's that on the outside? And there next the rails? It's not all over yet. A great race. "The brown! The brown,!" "Np! The bay! The bay!" But a hundred yards to go now. Neck and neck they race. Whips are out all round. Thunaera of fauntic screaming urge tiring horses and their -riders to the utmost. "The bay! The bay!". "The brown! The brown!" Moments drag like years. "The brown's in front! The brown wins. The brown!" "Well ridden, sir. Well ridden. The brown horse wins by a length." The National Steeplechase is over. Renewed bursts of cheering greet the winner. It was a race worth going miles to see)! - To-day's Grand National Steeplechase promises to bring together a sterling lot of 'cross-country performers. Sixteen well-tried horses and not a bad ''un amongst the crowd. The deeds of Capi-; tol, Kiatere, Audax, and the rest need no recounting. Winners of hard fought Nationals and Great Northerns need no booming, The best that New Zealand can produce will be there, and the oe«t of this little,dominion is probably the best of the big n-ound world. The candidates have been eagerly "touted" in their training work. Their condition is spoken of as excellent..' Kiatere is jumping as well as of yore. I Te Arai and Red McGregor are as fit as hands can make them. What more is j deeded? Just go and back your favorite, i Next in importance on to-day's card is the Winter Cup. Run under welter weights, this mile event has, since its inception in, 1899, drawn together some! strong fields, and* its winners include such high-class animals as Ostiak, Vladi-| mar, Mohutonga, Penates, and North East." To-day's field will include some : smart performers and whatever wins will only do so after a great struggle. Saturday's gallops at Riccarton were brimful of interest, and will probably guide punters in making their selections. Nyland' (A. OUiver) covered a mile on, the sanid in lmin 45sec—the. best gallop of the morning. Penates (C. Jenkins) ran the same distance in lmin 46sec, finishing strong!}'. North East beat ! Amato over seven furlongs in lmin 3osec and Los Angelos held too many gins 1 ' for Miss Dorie and Tawhaki over sixi i furlongs run in lmin 21 2-ssec. Wau-j chope went well in company with Electrakoff.

A brace of recent winners will contest! hunters' events at the meeting. They are Spaniard, who won a double at the Hawke's Bay Hunt Club meeting, winning a twelve furlong hurdle race with list 51bs in the saddle, in the fair time of 2min 59sec. The other is Mauri, who won at North Canterbury last month, and who placed a number of North Island victories to his credit in the season 1908-9.

Some light may be thrown on Thursday's National Hurdle Race by the running in the Trial Hurdles to-day. The top-weights share favoritism at present, but the winner appears to be well concealed. ,

JPurther steeplechase excitement and uncertainty will be provided in the Enfield Steeplechase. The Porirua horse, Exmoor, was quoted favorite until Saturday morning's wretched exhibition, and it is probable that more certain jumpers like Maidi, Full Cry and others will carry more money when the tote finishes operations on the race. The Jumpers' Plat Race—there is a good race to win. Locally-trained horses Paritutu and Waitapu have paid up and their running should prove ol interest to Taranaki sports. Of the others Stayboy and Southern Cross are ex-Taranaki horses, so we can claim to hold a full hand.

There are a'few good horses, and, as far as past performances guide, a heap of indifferent performers engaged in the

Avonheail Handicap. Little is known of their chances, as Stourton (who easily In at F-annus-over six furlongs) was the only one to be asked to show his pace on Satnnlay morning. The issue looks very open. North East carries 211bs move in today's Winter Cup than when he triumphed last year. Penates meets lira former victor on 171bs better terms this afternoon. W. Young will pilot North East! and C. Jenkina will do tljg && C essa.ry for A. Olliver will have the mount on Nyland in the Winter Cup. Billy Young's mounts at the meeting will include North East, Te Arai and Paisano. Very short prices have been accepted about the Te Arai—Paisano aiid Red McGregor—Tauira double. Audax is reported to have exhibited slight" symptoms of lameness in the shoulder last week, but the Hawke's Bay horse may not be much troubled by that At a recent meeting of the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club the following resolution was carried:—"That in the opinion of this meeting it is desirable to form a Sporting League to combat the agitation , ia the Dominion against the totalisator and sport generally." Hear, hear! Now will the Taranaki Jockey Club, and other Taranaki racing clubs move in the matter and do likewise? There are thousands of sportsmen in this province who are just bursting for a chance to do something to strengthen the cause of a noble sport. Will the racing clubs I only lead us?